380 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



A large chip tiew off, starting at the point of percussion, and run- 

 riing on the under side, gradually tliinning and widening as it pro- 

 gressed. This operation was repeated all around the stone. Then 

 the chipped pebble was reversed. The chipping having been success- 

 ful, the portion chipped away on one side of a surface met that on 

 the other side of the same surface, and the edges became sharp. The 

 flaker (plate 117) now came into requisition. It w^as a piece of deer 

 antler, or perhaps of bone, as either would answer, and had a 

 roughened surface. A point near the end of the flaker was pressed 

 against the sharp edge of the stone so that the flaker was indented 

 (see plate 117). The pressure of the flaker was against the stone and 

 upward, while the stone was pressed against it and downward. A 

 quick turn of the wrists inward and downward brought off" a chip, 

 hi this way the arrow point was given definite outline. That bone 

 or antler should be the chief instrument in flaking stone seems at 

 first strange, and yet it was the most important factor in the process. 

 An antler pitching tool was viseful in taking off" long flakes. 



In the manufacture of a large spearhead, the pebble, which is too 

 large to be easily held in the hand, was placed upon the pad of skins 

 which rested upon the stone anvil, the object of this pad being to 

 provide a yielding base ; this also was one reason for holding the 

 smaller stone in the hand. The notches in the arrow point were made 

 by making a small chip at the proper place, reversing the blade, and 

 chipping again until the notch was " eaten in.'' Large stone chips 

 required only the use of the antler or bone flaker to transform them 

 into shapely points. Often many hundred unfinished chipped blades 

 were made and stored in the earth, afterward being dug up and 

 flaked into any shape that necessity required. It was formerly 

 believed that cache blades were buried for safety only, but it is now 

 understood that they were also placed in the damp earth to absorb 

 and retain the moisture that keeps the stone elastic and easy to flake. 



It must not be supposed that the arrow-maker was successful in 

 finishing every blade. Often a blow would cause an abrupt fracture 

 or take off too large a chip. This all depended upon the character 

 of the stone and the skill of the operator. Unsuccessful attempts 

 were cast aside and are technically called " rejects." Many hun- 

 dreds of these may be found on old Indian quarry and camp sites. 



The usual chipped implements are the knife, spear point, arrow 

 point, drill and scraper, each kind of implement varying in size and 

 form. The drill is long and narrow, having rough but sharp edges, 

 generally broad at its base, and was used to perforate soft stone, 

 bone and wood. It was sharpened automatically, for as soon as an 



